catchphrase / said by James and Jimmie
Clear the lungs, arms to the sky, let's all shout: Shut up and give me murder
What does "Clear the lungs, arms to the sky, let's all shout: Shut up and give me murder" mean on Small Town Murder?
The warm-up James runs through at the top of the show before the case: everyone takes a breath, clears their lungs, throws their arms up to the sky and shouts the battle cry, 'Shut up and give me murder'. Jimmie answers the call and now and then leads it himself.
- Kind
- catchphrase
- Usually said by
- James and Jimmie
- First heard
- Episode 133, 22 August 2019
The story behind the phrase
Where did "Clear the lungs, arms to the sky, let's all shout: Shut up and give me murder" come from?
It first appears in episode 133, at the end of the comedy disclaimer. James tells listeners to "clear the lungs, sit back and shout it as loud as you can", then shout "shut up and give me murder dot com" before "let's go on a trip". Episode 134 repeats it as "the normal Thursday routine", with Jimmie finishing the line.
It turns the warm-up into a group shout: the show tells people to get rid of the disclaimer's seriousness and join in with the battle cry. James adds jokes about where to do it, asking them not to shout on a plane or in a school.
How is "Clear the lungs, arms to the sky, let's all shout: Shut up and give me murder" used now?
The "arms to the sky" gesture arrives later and it became the regular way into the case. James leads and Jimmie often takes the "give me murder" half, then they move straight to the trip. It is still used in 2026.
When was "Clear the lungs, arms to the sky, let's all shout: Shut up and give me murder" first said?
It was first heard in episode 133, "What's That In Your Pocket?", on 22 August 2019, at about 0:05:37.
"you oh you're gonna have a good time you're gonna have a blast and I think you should clear the lungs sit back and shout it as loud as you can shout shut up and give me murder dot com there we go dot com let's go on a trip Jane what do you say here I would love that let's get out of here we were in "
James finishes the comedy disclaimer and tries the warm-up out for the first time: 'I think you should clear the lungs, sit back and shout it as loud as you can - shout shut up and give me murder dot com', then takes it into 'let's go on a trip'. It is loose and riffed on the spot rather than a settled ritual; from 137 the 'sit back, clear the lungs and shout' version becomes the regular opening.
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